Review: DJ Hero

DJ Hero consist of one thing: good music. They fact that it’s a game is just a lite icing on the cake. By that, I mean I don’t understand why this was turned into a game.

The DJ peripheral is pretty cool looking. It looks like a real DJ kit, but not a very expensive one. It’s a game, so why would we really need a high dollar DJ studio to unlock achievements and trophies with? The hardware is sturdy and after beating the game, the device still functions just like new. The controls on the device are simple. You have the turntable, which looks like a record with three buttons on it. The buttons are the one of the key elements to the game. Just like in Guitar Hero, when a button pops up, you press at the appropriate time to initiate success. Ultimately though, by pressing the correct button, you’re basically securing the ability to listen to the full song. Also on the mini-studio is a crossover feature and a few extra knobs for hitting to maximize your score. The crossover feature was the hardest part of the game to master for me. For example, when your music track shows the green line you’re running on move to the left, you have to crossover to the left. It sounds easy, but it gets a little hectic in the game.

The device is really cool, but how’s the game? This is the part that ruined the peripheral. The game feels like a step back to the original Guitar Hero days. Everything is responsive, and the graphics are decent, but it just feels bland. One of the worst features in the game is that you truly can never fail. This may not be a big issue for the mainstream gamer, but if you can’t lose, then you’re coasting through just to beat it. I want to feel like I beat it. You can even start a track and do something else. It will still finish. Now, you do need stars to move to new areas and such, but the no-fail mode ruins any potential skills you can learn from practice.

The game isn’t all bad. It’s biggest issue is that the price is too much to justify a purchase. You’re paying really for the peripheral and mixes. The game is basically just a visualizer, much like that of the indie title, Audiosurf or Beat Hazard. So what’s good about it?

It really does make you feel like a DJ in a sense. I often wanted to wear headphones just to simulate the real DJs, but I never did. The game is also complete, which is rare these days. You’re not going to need to patch it because upon release, the game was finished. And if you’re coming from the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series, you’re going to understand the game right out of the box. The tutorial (which is forced) is really helpful to. In the store, I had no idea what buttons I was suppose to press, but the quick tutorial helped solve all of that.

If you’re going with just the overall fun factor of the game, I’d have to say just skip the game. There’s not too much to offer outside of good music. However, if you find it cheap enough, pick it up. I can tell a lot of heart was put into the game, however this is a video game. We plays these to have outstanding fun, and this game is lacking that.

+ Great mixes of popular music.+ Daft Punk and classic DJs from the 80s and 90s.– Extremely easy.– Feels more like a Winamp/iTunes visualizer than a game.